Forget hunting for stocking fillers — this year’s seasonal shopping lists might include more prosaic household staples such as tinned goods and spare batteries alongside the prosecco and smoked salmon, as we all become closet stockpilers in the run-up to Brexit.

The idea of hoarding household basics in your garage in case of a hurricane, wildfire, tornado or any other freak event is fairly common in America. But it has hitherto been something of a fringe hobby in the UK, limited to dedicated survivalists prepping for the apocalypse and kitting out a bunker with gas masks as well as baked beans.

Now, thanks to a more volatile climate — this year we’ve endured the Beast from the East and the joint hottest summer on record — and…

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